Posted: 2/1/2010 10:37:01 AM EDT
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On Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 7 PM Minnesotans will gather together in their local schools and government centers to exercise one of our most important rights: the right to organize and express ourselves politically through the precinct caucus system. Whether you have never attended a caucus or are a long-time activist, we want to want to encourage you to attend neighborhood Republican caucus. Precinct caucuses mark the beginning of the campaign season in our great state and form the foundation of our Party.
What Happens at Caucuses?
Why are caucuses important? For our Party, caucuses serve several important functions: 1. It's the start of the platform process The resolutions passed at caucuses are the starting point for changes to our Party's standing platform, which states our Party's principles and beliefs. 2. It's the start of choosing Republican candidates The process for electing delegates, who will endorse individuals to become our Party's candidates, starts here 3. It's where our precinct leaders are elected Local leaders serve as the backbone of the Party. A commitment to forward Republican principles qualifies you to accept this leadership post tonight. 4. It's the base of our grassroots efforts With their experience and knowledge, precinct caucus attendees make great volunteers for our candidates and our Party. Our principles cannot move forward without your involvement. Caucuses are the best way for conservatives to have their voices heard. If you have any questions about caucuses, please click here, call our office at (651) 222-0022, or email [email protected]. Resolution Report Form Republican PArty of MN's Standing Platform Caucus Locations |
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Advancing delegates through the convention process is how the nominees for governor and other offices are selected (unless there's a challenge in which case a primary election is held). This year would be the one to go since it won't be nearly as competitive as back in '08...and even then I got all the way to the state convention myself.
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All of you should at least attempt to be a delegate. Two years ago I was an alternate. Basically if you have a few of your local friends/family with you, you can be a delegate at this stage. It seems like a good way to push this monster in the right direction. |
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Does anyone have changes to the MN GOP party plank they would like to see made? I would be glad to advance them in my precint. ETA: Anyone attending the caucus at the Lakeville North that wants to meetup? Be Conservatives. The government is the cause, not the solution to most of my problems. GTFO of my way and quit passing senseless laws to make yourselves feel like you accomplished something. |
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Be Conservatives. The government is the cause, not the solution to most of my problems. GTFO of my way and quit passing senseless laws to make yourselves feel like you accomplished something. Good point indeed. I will be putting in the following changes: Section 3 – Educating our Children change - E. Making the Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program available mandatory annually in every Minnesota elementary and middle school. change - I. Requiring sexual abstinence to be taught in public schools, in conjunction with instruction on the safe use of condoms. that premarital sex and extramarital sex is wrong, and that the use of contraceptives is not safe sex. We oppose the dispensing of or referral for birth control drugs and devices in schools. We oppose dispensing any prescription drugs in schools without written consent of the parents. remove - J. Enforcement of existing laws prohibiting promotion of acceptance of homosexuality, bisexuality, or transgenderism when they are discussed in Minnesota public school classrooms. 4 – Strengthening Families and Communities remove - B. We should amend the U.S. Constitution and the Minnesota constitution to define marriage as the legal union between a man and a woman. We oppose civil unions or their legal equivalents between same-sex couples. remove - H. The Minnesota legislature should pass legislation increasing the legal age for gambling in Minnesota to 21 years of age. remove - P. Minnesota should prohibit any medical procedure or therapy that would deliberately cause or hasten death, including physician-assisted suicide and depravation of food and water. Section 5 – Protecting the Public’s Safety remove - E. Re-instituting capital punishment for the most serious crimes. Plank 8 – Making Government Smaller and Better remove - D. A constitutional amendment giving the President of the United States a line-item veto. remove - E. Adopting an amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting the desecration of the United States flag. remove - G. Maintaining Minnesota’s two-house legislature, rather than adopting a unicameral system. Fuck... those are just the removals... it'd probably just be easier to change parties. 
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My resolution sheets have:
Elimination of the U.S. Department of Education Abolition of the Dept. of Homeland Security Repeal the "PATRIOT" Act Eliminate airport security screening End the War on Terror End the War on Drugs End drug testing in schools End driver's licensing End marriage licensing Disband the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Formally censure former President Bush and impose on him a lifetime ban from the Republican Party This and more...coming to a caucus near you! |
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My resolution sheets have: Elimination of the U.S. Department of Education <...> Formally censure former President Bush and impose on him a lifetime ban from the Republican Party The first one is already in there. Section 3 – Educating our Children U. Abolishing the U.S. Department of Education and all its unfunded mandates and opposing any new state or federal laws that seek to centralize educational authority at the expense of local school boards. We oppose reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act and until then Minnesota should opt out. The last one... you'll need to get this stuff taken out first: Commendatory
Since its inception, our party has embraced core American principles and chosen extraordinary leaders. Those leaders – like Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan – not only embodied the very best in Republican values, but also led America to new triumphs of peace, prosperity, achievement and spirituality. Today we are blessed with a new generation of American and Minnesota leaders who proudly carry on those Republican traditions. Therefore, we commend: A. President Bush for his eight years of strong leadership of our country, through times of peril he has remained steadfast, his moral and just leadership has risen to the occasion, and America is a greater nation because of him. B. ELECTED OFFICIALS - We commend the following elected Republican officials for their hard work and service to our nation and to the people of Minnesota: U.S. President George W. Bush To the rest of your items... expect to get lots of  ... you'd get it from me on some of them.
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Same here. My abolish the Department of Homeland Security was the only resolution passed in my caucus. The rest of them were voted down by hypocrites who claim to be for limited-government but won't step up when the time comes to be more exacting about what that means. 
To their credit, I was able to draw at least 40% of my caucus on all but one of my resolutions. Quoted:
Well, I got one resolution passed.  There were quite a few grey-hairs and non-conservative Republicans in my precient.
And I am a delegate, so maybe I'll see some of you at the Senate District 36 convention!! |
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Same here. My abolish the Department of Homeland Security was the only resolution passed in my caucus. The rest of them were voted down by hypocrites who claim to be for limited-government but won't step up when the time comes to be more exacting about what that means.
To their credit, I was able to draw at least 40% of my caucus on all but one of my resolutions. What worries me is that if we don't get the GOP ship moving in the right direction all of the Libertarians who are smart enough to voe with the Rs and all of the Tea Party folks who really believe what they are promoting are going to fraction off. Splitting the right side of the aisle and giving MORE control to the left. That scares the hell out of me. Unfortunatly we have too many people in the GOP that care more about who someone is fucking then spreading liberty. |
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What worries me is that if we don't get the GOP ship moving in the right direction all of the Libertarians who are smart enough to voe with the Rs and all of the Tea Party folks who really believe what they are promoting are going to fraction off. Splitting the right side of the aisle and giving MORE control to the left. That scares the hell out of me. Unfortunatly we have too many people in the GOP that care more about who someone is fucking then spreading liberty. Well, who knows. Maybe my "radical" suggestions for the platform planted some seeds and will cause people to question what they'd always assumed should be taken for granted. I hope so, but I wonder if I know better. The split things frightens me also. |
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What is odd is that I talked to about 5 or 6 people after we were done. Most of them didn't vote for my resolutions. Yet afterwards they were saying that they agree that burning the flag is a disgusting act, but that we shouldn't change the Constitution to ban it.
I don't really understand what they thought was going on, but it seems they didn't really understand the platform or what the resolutions process was about. I was actually amazed at how many people in attendance didn't know the most of the items in the party platform. Sure, the average guy on the street probably doesn't know them, but if you are taking the time to attend the caucus... wtf? |
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What is odd is that I talked to about 5 or 6 people after we were done. Most of them didn't vote for my resolutions. Yet afterwards they were saying that they agree that burning the flag is a disgusting act, but that we shouldn't change the Constitution to ban it. I don't really understand what they thought was going on, but it seems they didn't really understand the platform or what the resolutions process was about. I was actually amazed at how many people in attendance didn't know the most of the items in the party platform. Sure, the average guy on the street probably doesn't know them, but if you are taking the time to attend the caucus... wtf? That concept is what I always thought conservatism was about. I find item "x" to be disagreeable, but I'm not going to shove my morals down your throat so long as you are not causing harm, fraud or foul to another person. I've noticed in that past few years that people in this state want a constitutional amendment for everything under the sun. It's getting more annoying all the time. Do we honestly have to amend our founding documents every 2 years to collect taxes for arts or outdoors or car sales tax. I thought we elected a legislature to deal with those things as our representatives. |
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I think this can be done and in a liberty-minded way.
Instead of telling them about all the things we're going to ban through the power and authority of the State, tell them that the power and authority of the State actually props up the things they find objectionable. Then tell them that we'll remove that power and authority. Quoted:
Unfortunately we have too many people in the GOP that care more about who someone is fucking then spreading liberty.
Yep. the Moral Majority is still around and still needs to be catered to. |
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I think this can be done and in a liberty-minded way. Instead of telling them about all the things we're going to ban through the power and authority of the State, tell them that the power and authority of the State actually props up the things they find objectionable. Then tell them that we'll remove that power and authority. I am not following, please give me an example. ETA: I am curious because at the Senate District convention we will be going over many resolutions. I am assuming there will be some resolutions that passed in different districts that are similar to what I tried. I would like any ideas for how to get things like these passed. |
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Example: much of the envelope-pushing in the realm of scientific research is made possible through government propping it up. Check the financial statements of any of these operations and you'll find government subsidies, grants, and soforth. This ace card always comes in handy for me when discussing things like embryonic stem cell research. All I need to tell people is that the first order of business is to stop government from supporting morally and ethically dubious ventures.
Another example of how government power and authority props up otherwise unnatural and unsustainable things generally thought to be contrary to Conservative doctrine: marriage licensing. Because of this artificially-created system that confers official government approval/sanctionl/imprimatur on some relationships but not others, we've seen homosexuality/gay rights/whatever you want to call it gain more strength and support than it otherwise would have. If not for marriage licensing, the whole gay rights thing wouldn't even be an issue. Quoted:
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I think this can be done and in a liberty-minded way. Instead of telling them about all the things we're going to ban through the power and authority of the State, tell them that the power and authority of the State actually props up the things they find objectionable. Then tell them that we'll remove that power and authority. I am not following, please give me an example. ETA: I am curious because at the Senate District convention we will be going over many resolutions. I am assuming there will be some resolutions that passed in different districts that are similar to what I tried. I would like any ideas for how to get things like these passed. |
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They're the sort of people who never stop to think about the consequences of their actions. I'll save my even more brutal derision for some other time.
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You have quite a battle in front of you. There is a faction that feels that the "defense of marriage act" is one of the pillars of the party. For you to change their thinking I wish you the best of luck. |
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They're the sort of people who never stop to think about the consequences of their actions.
Yep, so whats new about that. Everyone has an agenda.This goes back to being able to convince a majority of voters to vote for the "Total Liberty Program" endorsed candidate. Or does one vote for a lesser candidate who at least holds some values that we as individuals feel are important and has the best potential of winning an election . This is a personal decision that one has to live with, good or bad. |
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SenateDistrict 36 AAR:
We had 250ish people show up for SD36 convention. My precient had 17 of 19 delegates show up. We had 4 people running to take Senator Pat Pariseau's seat after shedecided not to run for re-election last week. The most well known candidate won, Dave Thompson. You may recognize his name from his radio show or his appearences at the TaxCut/TeaParty rallies. The precients discussed a total of 96 resolutions, 86 resolutions passed. There is a 'Resolution Commitee' which reduced the 86 down to 7 that were presented to the convention. Many of the resolutions were duplicates, so this makes some sense. However, the 'resolution commitee' decided that some of the resolutions were against the standing platform. This makes no sense to me, as the goal of the resolution process is to change/update/modify the platform. The 'resolution commitee' stated that many of the resolutions were to "grass roots" to be approved by them. Additionally, the resolution commitee admonished the local precients for 'dumping' resolutions onto the SD convention. If someone wanted to discuss a resolution that was not approved it had to have the support of 5 people from 3 seperate precients. There was very little time to gather supporters, espcially since many of the new people had no idea of the process. My resolution to 'remove the support for increasing the gambling age to 21" was not passed forward by the 'resolution commitee.' Many people were in a big hurry to get out of the convention, which was strange. Why would you even show up if you just wanted to leave. There are two main functions of the convention: 1) approve candidates and 2) discuss changes to the MN party platform. Yet most people didn't give a shit about the second. Of the 250 people we had 22 delegate slots (and 44 alternates) to go forward to the Congresional District convention. We had about 70 delegates step forward to become delegates. Each was given 30seconds (reduced from 1min) to speak as to why they should be elected. The speeches were given in alpha order, so I went pretty quick with no prep. My age combined with my un-remarkable speech was at least good enough to get me elected as a Delegate - Alternate. Many of the older folks were concerned that the young folks wouldn't show up, or something to that effect. All in all, it was a pretty interesting exp. In 2 years I will be better prepared. I will come with a speech prepared, I will know about the resolution commitee and how to deal with them. I will also have a better understanding of Robert's Rules of Order and look for ways to leverage them. |
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Many people were in a big hurry to get out of the convention... I've noticed this at many conventions I've attended and highly dislike it. A collective desire to leave doesn't do the process any justice and things end up being sloppily done. Quoted:
Of the 250 people we had 22 delegate slots (and 44 alternates) to go forward to the Congresional District convention. We had about 70 delegates step forward to become delegates. Each was given 30seconds (reduced from 1min) to speak as to why they should be elected. The speeches were given in alpha order, so I went pretty quick with no prep. My age combined with my un-remarkable speech was at least good enough to get me elected as a Delegate - Alternate. Many of the older folks were concerned that the young folks wouldn't show up, or something to that effect. This, too, is something else I've seen a lot at conventions. I did it right the first time back in '08 and gave a wonderful, 7-second speech that knocked the delegates' socks off. In a very crowded field that year, I came up with the 7th or 8th highest number of votes for 16 delegate positions with nearly 100 people vying for advancement. The only people who beat me were people like the BPOU officers, the convener, and soforth. Edited for grammar |
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The world is run by those who show up!
Don't just show up to the Caucuses & Conventions... That's great, but REALLY start to make your presence FELT in your community! Your Senate District usually meets REGULARLY to discuss the issues in your community - find out where & when, and get to know the people in your area. I know my SD Leaders and many of the BPOU officers, and you're free to even become one if you so choose! SD 45 meets on the 3rd Saturday Morning of each month at the Bruggers Bagels at 36th & Winnetka in the strip mall to discuss local political issues, and grassroots efforts to improve our community. Find where YOUR people are meeting & go see what's going on! Volunteer some time as an Election Judge - to keep fraudulent pricks from electing morons like Al Franken! YOU are responsible for keeping our political system from becoming a mockery, and a complete JOKE! ALSO, it doesn't stop there! Volunteer for OTHER things in your community! There are PLANNING Commissions, ENVIRONMENTAL Commissions, ad nauseum... You can join these commissions, and volunteer your time to bring back some semblance of COMMON SENSE and FISCAL CONSERVATION to your communities! You have NO IDEA how many times your LOCAL POLITICIANS are shadily pushing through their own 'pet projects' for their friends, for their neighbors, etc., and they're using our already INSANELY LIMITED city funds for their schemes! If you don't like laws that state you have to hide your garbage cans from sight from the road, or you don't like ordinances that state your WORK-RELATED equipment & trailers need to be kept out of sight, or that your Garden Shed or Woodpile needs to be 'screened' (hidden) from your neighbors' views because it's "Unsightly" - then VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME on the Planning Commission board! PUT AN END TO THEIR OVER-REACHING ENDEAVORS while your local cities are trying to legislate EVERY DAMN DETAIL of your lives, and it doesn't just stop at your property lines - it's reaching into your HOMES, and your GARAGES! DO SOMETHING!!! Am I the only perosn that gives enough of a $#!T about these intrusions and unconstitutional BS laws to volunteer 1 night a MONTH to help STOP the madness? Don't just stop at the Caucuses, or the Conventions - You can do SO MUCH MORE to reign in this herd of Liberal Cats instead of just whining about it online... 
This rant isn't aimed at any one person in particular - I just hope that some more people get out of their homes & DO something to help better our nation, and our cities... I know SOME ofyou are already doing these things - and that's GREAT!!! Please keep up the excellent work! |